WE started the week with a few Random Acts of Kindness. My homeroom and Mrs. Reasner's homeroom delivered coffee and cookies to all the teachers and staff members in the building Monday morning. We wanted to show them how much we appreciate them all!
These students took the time to decorate the teacher workroom. They had a great time and seemed to be excited to be able to surprise the teachers with this random act of kindness.
Mrs. McNabb came in this week and made an ornament with us.
This is the tag that we tied on the ornament. The students added these items inside the plastic ornament.
Then they filled it up with Epson salt. It is like a mini I Spy for the Christmas tree.
We also wrote some math word problems using a price list and the 12 Days of Christmas song.
We also played 24. Some of my students were serious about this game. On each card there are 4 numbers. They have to add, subtract, multiply, and/or divide to get 24.
We had a blast at our class Christmas party and there were lots of sweets for everyone!
The week wrapped up with our class gaining a new "student" named Jack. Jack is Dylan's service dog and alerts when Dylan's blood sugar gets too high or too low. We are looking forward to having Jack in our class every day!
I hope everyone has a wonderful break and a safe holiday!
Friday, December 20, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
Week 17- More RAKs & A Little Redesign
A few weeks back I was browsing Pinterest and ran across a pin where a teacher had her desks arranged the way I do mine sometime. She used drawers to help keep supplies close to the kids so I knew I wanted to do that.
The drawers came in this week and I love them! We keep paper towels, notebook paper, a stapler, tape, pencils, pens, and post it notes in the drawers. We are still figuring out what we need to add to them to have all our supplied close. I also added tissue and hand sanitizer to the top.
I'm also in the process of making the decorations to hang from the ceiling. I used wiffle balls and tissue paper to create these. I wasn't sure I loved them but the kids did so I'm keeping them. I just glued the tissue paper in the holes in the wiffle balls. They were super easy to make.
This week we continued our random acts of kindness (RAK). We selected different grade levels each day and went and posted positive notes to the teachers. We got so many comments about doing this and my kids are continuing to do nice things for each other as well.
We have several surprise RAK in the works for next week so check back to see what we've done!
One afternoon when we went to pack up we found that one of the students wrote positive notes for everyone and put them on their lockers. Great job!
I also wanted to share this game that my math coach, Mrs. Hamlet shared with me. The students play bowling with order of operations. They roll 3 numbers and write it on their paper. Then they use those numbers and try to write an equation to equal each number on the right side of the page. When they create an equation for each number they knock over the bowling pin (bottom left). I let them compete against each other.
This is the pdf file in case you'd like to use it too!
STUDENTS: What can you do to help someone else without expecting something in return? What is something that stood out to you in the RAK videos we watched this week? Can you duplicate this?
The drawers came in this week and I love them! We keep paper towels, notebook paper, a stapler, tape, pencils, pens, and post it notes in the drawers. We are still figuring out what we need to add to them to have all our supplied close. I also added tissue and hand sanitizer to the top.
I'm also in the process of making the decorations to hang from the ceiling. I used wiffle balls and tissue paper to create these. I wasn't sure I loved them but the kids did so I'm keeping them. I just glued the tissue paper in the holes in the wiffle balls. They were super easy to make.
This week we continued our random acts of kindness (RAK). We selected different grade levels each day and went and posted positive notes to the teachers. We got so many comments about doing this and my kids are continuing to do nice things for each other as well.
We have several surprise RAK in the works for next week so check back to see what we've done!
One afternoon when we went to pack up we found that one of the students wrote positive notes for everyone and put them on their lockers. Great job!
I also wanted to share this game that my math coach, Mrs. Hamlet shared with me. The students play bowling with order of operations. They roll 3 numbers and write it on their paper. Then they use those numbers and try to write an equation to equal each number on the right side of the page. When they create an equation for each number they knock over the bowling pin (bottom left). I let them compete against each other.
This is the pdf file in case you'd like to use it too!
STUDENTS: What can you do to help someone else without expecting something in return? What is something that stood out to you in the RAK videos we watched this week? Can you duplicate this?
Friday, December 6, 2013
Week 16- Fractions & RAKs
I have so much to share about this week! We started learning about Holidays Around the World this week in social studies. Check out the file on TpT. It is a close read format and my students had fun learning about traditions in different countries.
We started learning about fractions this week and had several fun activities. We started with a living number line. I gave each student a fraction card and they placed themselves on the number line in the correct order.
On Thursday, during our small group rotations, I taught the kids how to play a game called From Here to There Fractions.
We used fraction cards that my former math coach, Haley James, gave me last year. The kids loved using these cards and couldn't believe I had playing cards with fractions on them.
Here is a picture of one of the game boards.
Want to know how to play? Watch this Gami that Haley and Avery made to explain the game.
I also had to do the chocolate bar activity with fractions. I love any excuse for chocolate.
We answered questions about fractions using the chocolate bar pieces.
Want to see the powerpoint I made for this? It is free on TpT: Chocolate Fractions
And have I mentioned lately how much I love using Padlet with my students? This week we took pictures of our pages in the interactive notebook and I added them to the fractions padlet. That way students could go back and access it from home in case they forgot their notebook at school. It is also a good resource that shows the different ways I teach fractions. I like to show my students several different ways to do things and let them pick what works best for them.
My mom stopped by school this week and brought us a beautiful wreath for the classroom door. I love it!
Mrs. Reasner and I have been doing Random Acts of Kindness (RAKs) with our students during the school day. I gave my students a choice board and challenged them to do all of the items on the board this week. Find the choice board idea I found here. We also created a Motivation Wall in the teacher work room. I have seen several of these on Pinterest and knew we had to do this for the teachers. This is what we did. We also left other post it notes so that teachers can add some of their favorite motivational quotes to the wall. We didn't add a bunch because we wanted to leave room for others but I have a list of quotes I plan to add it no one else takes advantage of this.
To go along with the Random Acts of Kindness we started using the Christmas Kindness Countdown. It gives a different RAK each day for the students to do. This week we picked up trash, smiled at everyone, and made cards for our principal. I also showed them this RAK video and we talked about doing nice things for people and not expecting things in return. I think this is a great life lesson and I've seen my students doing nice things for others all week.
We also chose names for the Secret Santa RAK. Each student drew a classmate's name (I added my name too). We will do nice things for that student and reveal ourselves before the Christmas break. I also plan to have them make a picture of their RAK person and list things they have done for them. I found the idea on Pinterest (here it is).
Mrs. Reasner shared the idea of writing positive notes for the teachers in each grade level so of course I was on board. We have been randomly selecting a grade level and writing a positive note on a post it note for the teachers. Then we go and stick them on their doors. I hope we have brightened some days this week with our little notes of love.
STUDENTS: We started doing RAKs this week. I loved seeing everyone doing nice things for each other. Has this carried over into your life at home? Have you done a RAK for someone at home or has someone done something for you? Share what was done. I'd love to hear about it.
We started learning about fractions this week and had several fun activities. We started with a living number line. I gave each student a fraction card and they placed themselves on the number line in the correct order.
On Thursday, during our small group rotations, I taught the kids how to play a game called From Here to There Fractions.
We used fraction cards that my former math coach, Haley James, gave me last year. The kids loved using these cards and couldn't believe I had playing cards with fractions on them.
Here is a picture of one of the game boards.
Want to know how to play? Watch this Gami that Haley and Avery made to explain the game.
I also had to do the chocolate bar activity with fractions. I love any excuse for chocolate.
We answered questions about fractions using the chocolate bar pieces.
Want to see the powerpoint I made for this? It is free on TpT: Chocolate Fractions
And have I mentioned lately how much I love using Padlet with my students? This week we took pictures of our pages in the interactive notebook and I added them to the fractions padlet. That way students could go back and access it from home in case they forgot their notebook at school. It is also a good resource that shows the different ways I teach fractions. I like to show my students several different ways to do things and let them pick what works best for them.
My mom stopped by school this week and brought us a beautiful wreath for the classroom door. I love it!
Mrs. Reasner and I have been doing Random Acts of Kindness (RAKs) with our students during the school day. I gave my students a choice board and challenged them to do all of the items on the board this week. Find the choice board idea I found here. We also created a Motivation Wall in the teacher work room. I have seen several of these on Pinterest and knew we had to do this for the teachers. This is what we did. We also left other post it notes so that teachers can add some of their favorite motivational quotes to the wall. We didn't add a bunch because we wanted to leave room for others but I have a list of quotes I plan to add it no one else takes advantage of this.
To go along with the Random Acts of Kindness we started using the Christmas Kindness Countdown. It gives a different RAK each day for the students to do. This week we picked up trash, smiled at everyone, and made cards for our principal. I also showed them this RAK video and we talked about doing nice things for people and not expecting things in return. I think this is a great life lesson and I've seen my students doing nice things for others all week.
We also chose names for the Secret Santa RAK. Each student drew a classmate's name (I added my name too). We will do nice things for that student and reveal ourselves before the Christmas break. I also plan to have them make a picture of their RAK person and list things they have done for them. I found the idea on Pinterest (here it is).
Mrs. Reasner shared the idea of writing positive notes for the teachers in each grade level so of course I was on board. We have been randomly selecting a grade level and writing a positive note on a post it note for the teachers. Then we go and stick them on their doors. I hope we have brightened some days this week with our little notes of love.
STUDENTS: We started doing RAKs this week. I loved seeing everyone doing nice things for each other. Has this carried over into your life at home? Have you done a RAK for someone at home or has someone done something for you? Share what was done. I'd love to hear about it.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Week 15- Silent Colonies, Special Number Project, & Nearpod
I can't believe we fit so much in at school in just 2 days. We started the week with a silent scavenger hunt about the 13 colonies. The kids really seemed to enjoy this and I was laughing at these boys because I said they sounded like they were making guinea pig noises when they found the answer to a question. Want to try this with your class? Check out Settling the 13 Colonies on TpT.
I gave my math classes a project where they were able to pick their favorite number between 10-100. They also had to share information about the number which included even/odd, factors, multiples, and several other things.
Today the kids were able to share their project with a small group. They were able to make a poster, a song, a book, or a poem. Most of them made a poster but I had at least one of each. I like giving options to my students so they can create a project they are proud of.
Check out Seth's poster! He made his 3D! You can't tell from this picture but all the 10s are coming off the poster.
Kai was creative with his! He created a riddle for his number.
Then we used the app Nearpod to solve some math word problems. The word problems were about how much things cost at the store and what someone spent when they purchased what they needed. This powerpoint was given to me by our math coach last year. I'll check with her to see if I can share it with you here.
I love using the Nearpod add when I can get iPads to use with my class because I can control the speed of the slide show and everyone has it right in front of them. Want to see my post about Nearpod? Check out my Tech Nerd blog post about it.
STUDENTS: We are out for Thanksgiving. What is something you are thankful for? Make sure to write a complete sentence to answer this question. Have a great Thanksgiving!
I gave my math classes a project where they were able to pick their favorite number between 10-100. They also had to share information about the number which included even/odd, factors, multiples, and several other things.
Today the kids were able to share their project with a small group. They were able to make a poster, a song, a book, or a poem. Most of them made a poster but I had at least one of each. I like giving options to my students so they can create a project they are proud of.
Check out Seth's poster! He made his 3D! You can't tell from this picture but all the 10s are coming off the poster.
Kai was creative with his! He created a riddle for his number.
Then we used the app Nearpod to solve some math word problems. The word problems were about how much things cost at the store and what someone spent when they purchased what they needed. This powerpoint was given to me by our math coach last year. I'll check with her to see if I can share it with you here.
I love using the Nearpod add when I can get iPads to use with my class because I can control the speed of the slide show and everyone has it right in front of them. Want to see my post about Nearpod? Check out my Tech Nerd blog post about it.
STUDENTS: We are out for Thanksgiving. What is something you are thankful for? Make sure to write a complete sentence to answer this question. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Week 14- 2 Point Perspective in Art & Math Games
In art this week, my students were working on 2-point perspective. Mr. Mikell, Auburn graduate in Industrial Design, was our guest speaker. He talked to the kids about the importance of learning to draw in two-point perspective. Architects and designers do this all the time.
In science we used a new reading strategy called 5-3-1. They read the section on their own and find 5 important words/phrases. Then they group up and compare their lists and come up with 3.
In the end they come up with one phrase that summarizes what they have read.
I loved the conversations that took place and the way students defended their choices by finding evidence in the text.
Here are a few of the final statements from the groups.
Thursday during math rotations we played a few games. The students were able to play the factor tree race. They worked in pairs and rolled 2 dice. Using the numbers rolled they create a 2 digit number and then race to find the prime factorization for that number. Then they use the calculator to check to make sure the answer is correct. The first one finished scores a point.
We used the upside down birthday cake method to find the greatest common factor this week. So at the table with me this week I reviewed this and taught them another new game.
Each pair got 4 cards, which they used to create two 2-digit numbers. Then they found the GCF for those numbers. The team with the greatest GCF won.
Once we determined which team won they rolled the die to see how many points they earned.
STUDENTS: Do you like playing math games during our review rotations on Thursday? Why or why not?
In science we used a new reading strategy called 5-3-1. They read the section on their own and find 5 important words/phrases. Then they group up and compare their lists and come up with 3.
In the end they come up with one phrase that summarizes what they have read.
I loved the conversations that took place and the way students defended their choices by finding evidence in the text.
Here are a few of the final statements from the groups.
Thursday during math rotations we played a few games. The students were able to play the factor tree race. They worked in pairs and rolled 2 dice. Using the numbers rolled they create a 2 digit number and then race to find the prime factorization for that number. Then they use the calculator to check to make sure the answer is correct. The first one finished scores a point.
We used the upside down birthday cake method to find the greatest common factor this week. So at the table with me this week I reviewed this and taught them another new game.
Each pair got 4 cards, which they used to create two 2-digit numbers. Then they found the GCF for those numbers. The team with the greatest GCF won.
Once we determined which team won they rolled the die to see how many points they earned.
STUDENTS: Do you like playing math games during our review rotations on Thursday? Why or why not?
Sunday, November 17, 2013
My Math Journals Video
Here is a video I created to show how I use Math Reflection Fans and DynaMath in my 5th grade math journals. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Want to make your own Show What You Know poster? Check out the link here!
Want to make your own Show What You Know poster? Check out the link here!
Friday, November 15, 2013
Week 13- Order of Operations
I made it home to do my blog post tonight and realized I didn't take any pictures in class this week! Oh my!
So I'm going to share a few things we did this week. In math, we were studying the order of operations.
Have you seen Aunt Sally? I thought this was so cute so we made on in our math interactive notebook so my students could remember the steps to the order of operations.
We also used a few songs in class this week. This is a take on Ron Clark's song.
I also created a Scoot game for my students to use to review at the end of the week while I met with small groups. I have 24 cards with different equations. The students have to decide if the answer is correct or not and explain why. Then I have a QR code sheet they used to check their answers. Check out my TpT page to see them.
We also used another padlet this week to start our notes on minerals. I love using these so my students have the notes online in case they forget their interactive notebook at school. Check out the page we started today.
I've been working on a short presentation on math fans and math journals. I'll be doing that next week so be sure to check back next week for my post about that (which includes input from my students).
STUDENTS: Do you think it will be helpful to have our class notes on padlet? Why or why not?
So I'm going to share a few things we did this week. In math, we were studying the order of operations.
Have you seen Aunt Sally? I thought this was so cute so we made on in our math interactive notebook so my students could remember the steps to the order of operations.
We also used a few songs in class this week. This is a take on Ron Clark's song.
I also created a Scoot game for my students to use to review at the end of the week while I met with small groups. I have 24 cards with different equations. The students have to decide if the answer is correct or not and explain why. Then I have a QR code sheet they used to check their answers. Check out my TpT page to see them.
We also used another padlet this week to start our notes on minerals. I love using these so my students have the notes online in case they forget their interactive notebook at school. Check out the page we started today.
I've been working on a short presentation on math fans and math journals. I'll be doing that next week so be sure to check back next week for my post about that (which includes input from my students).
STUDENTS: Do you think it will be helpful to have our class notes on padlet? Why or why not?
Friday, November 8, 2013
Week 12- Keep It or Junk It & Math SCOOT w/QR codes
This week I tried a new classroom activity and I think my students enjoyed it. I feel like they understood the material a little better than usual after doing Keep It or Junk It.
I divided the class into groups to read a section in the text and create a list of words that would help them answer the focus question. Our focus question for this lesson was: "What is erosion and what are the ways in which it happens?"
The students decided if they would read together and make their own personal list or if they would read alone while making the list. Once they developed their own list their group had to work to develop a group list of words that would answer the focus question. They voted by showing numbers with their fingers- 1 keep it, 2 junk it, or 3 cloud it. If they put it in the cloud they had to come back to the word when they finished and make a decision.
Then each group shared their list with the class as a whole. Then the entire class voted on words to add to the class list for keep it or junk it.
Both of the science classes developed a list. In the end they used the list of words to write a paragraph to answer the focus question for the lesson.
Here are just a few pictures of the notebook pages that each individual made. You can see on the first list the ones crossed out were the ones that group decided to junk.
We also used the iPads during this activity. I had the students add information to the wall about weathering. For this wall, They were able to share what they thought weathering was, we added the list of words, and some definitions. I thought this would be a great summary of information and a great way for students to revisit what we did when they need to study. I posted a link for this wall on our Edmodo page for the students. Both classes contributed to this wall. If you don't know about Padlet you have to check it out!
At the end of the week I asked a small group to create a Gami about keep it or junk it. I let them decide what to say and how to do the gami. Austin created this one along with the help of his group members. I love the way he took a picture of our classroom so it looks like his character is talking in our class! Great job guys!
Check out my previous post with the posters for Keep It or Junk It.
This week our math coach, Mrs. Hamlet came to do an activity with my math classes.
She had decimal math task cards and the kids played a scoot game to answer each card. Then she had a QR code sheet the students used to check their answers.
We had enough iPads so that each group was able to share to check their answers.
STUDENTS: How do you feel about keep it or junk it? I felt like you guys were able to defend your choice of words so well. Do you think you understand more about weathering and erosion because of this? Would you like to try it again?
I divided the class into groups to read a section in the text and create a list of words that would help them answer the focus question. Our focus question for this lesson was: "What is erosion and what are the ways in which it happens?"
The students decided if they would read together and make their own personal list or if they would read alone while making the list. Once they developed their own list their group had to work to develop a group list of words that would answer the focus question. They voted by showing numbers with their fingers- 1 keep it, 2 junk it, or 3 cloud it. If they put it in the cloud they had to come back to the word when they finished and make a decision.
Then each group shared their list with the class as a whole. Then the entire class voted on words to add to the class list for keep it or junk it.
Both of the science classes developed a list. In the end they used the list of words to write a paragraph to answer the focus question for the lesson.
Here are just a few pictures of the notebook pages that each individual made. You can see on the first list the ones crossed out were the ones that group decided to junk.
We also used the iPads during this activity. I had the students add information to the wall about weathering. For this wall, They were able to share what they thought weathering was, we added the list of words, and some definitions. I thought this would be a great summary of information and a great way for students to revisit what we did when they need to study. I posted a link for this wall on our Edmodo page for the students. Both classes contributed to this wall. If you don't know about Padlet you have to check it out!
At the end of the week I asked a small group to create a Gami about keep it or junk it. I let them decide what to say and how to do the gami. Austin created this one along with the help of his group members. I love the way he took a picture of our classroom so it looks like his character is talking in our class! Great job guys!
Check out my previous post with the posters for Keep It or Junk It.
This week our math coach, Mrs. Hamlet came to do an activity with my math classes.
She had decimal math task cards and the kids played a scoot game to answer each card. Then she had a QR code sheet the students used to check their answers.
We had enough iPads so that each group was able to share to check their answers.
STUDENTS: How do you feel about keep it or junk it? I felt like you guys were able to defend your choice of words so well. Do you think you understand more about weathering and erosion because of this? Would you like to try it again?